The languages Jesus spoke
If Jesus spoke his words in Aramaic and the gospel writers later wrote them down in Greek, why do our pastors go to so much trouble analyzing the Greek in careful exegesis? Couldn't it be misleading to examine every tiny detail in the Greek words, since they are actually just a paraphrase of what he said in Aramaic?
In a few instances the gospel writers did preserve Aramaic words spoken by Jesus. A couple of those instances are Matthew 27:46 and Mark 5:41. That being said, the premise that Jesus spoke exclusively in Aramaic cannot be substantiated. In the early first century A.D. it was common for Jews to speak Greek in public. There are historical examples of that practice. It would not have been unusual for Jesus to follow that pattern—using Greek in his conversations in public and Aramaic at other times.
Ultimately it cannot be said with absolute certainty what red-letter words in our English Bibles Jesus might have originally spoken in Aramaic or in Greek, but that really doesn’t matter. The doctrine of verbal inspiration means that God gave the Bible writers the very words to write down (1 Corinthians 2:13). The words that the gospel writers penned are God’s words, the words he wanted them to record. That is why it is important for our pastors to study Jesus’ words in the Greek New Testament.
In addition, keep in mind that there are 23 other New Testament books which we know—without a doubt—were originally written in Greek. God also guided those writers so that they wrote down his words. That too explains why it is important for our pastors to study those words in the Greek New Testament.
The education in biblical languages that our pre-seminary and seminary students receive is definitely a rigorous and demanding one. It is also a pretty rare one in the world of churches today. But what a blessing this education—and the exercising of it—is for our pastors and the people they serve. Bible class and sermon preparation can be done on the basis of Hebrew and Greek.
All that study of God’s word in the original languages has the purpose of better understanding and relaying the precious truths that God has revealed in his word. We can be thankful that the Holy Spirit reminded the disciples of everything Jesus said (John 14:26) and that he led the gospel writers and all the writers of the books of the Bible to record God’s words with complete accuracy.